Alfa-Beta by Aldo Novarese, 2020. Archivio Tipografico, Torino, Italy. This facsimile book and Reader's Guide was published and funded as a Kickstarter campaign on the occasion of the centenary of Aldo Novarese’s birth (June 29th 2020). With Italian and English text. Meticulously printed in Italy. Designed by Studio 23.56.
Originally published in 1964, Alfa-Beta is a faithful facsimile printed exactly as the original, 17 × 23.5 cm, with pp. 314. Richly illustrated with (17) complete series of alphabets, (40) full-page examples, (92) alphabets and (194) documentations.
The softcover Reader’s Guide includes the full English translation of Novarese’s original text; an Introduction by the editorial and production teams describing the development of the reissue; and a Preface by Enrico Tallone on the historical context within which Novarese wrote Alfa-Beta. With Endnotes and Index.
Alfa-Beta discusses the evolution of writing systems and typography from their advent up to the present day. The book showcases a very specific point of view: it is one of very few works on the history of type originally written in Italian, and one of even fewer to have been written by a type designer rather than a historian or academic. It also marked the public debut of Novarese’s own typeface classification system.
“Aldo Novarese is one of the often-overlooked maestros of 20th century type design. His work veers from the sublime (Nova Augustea) to the goofy (Estro); from the ingenious (Stop) to the clumsy (Ritmo); and from the swoonily romantic (Fontanesi) to the severely utilitarian (Eurostile). Novarese is a designer one can simultaneously love and hate, but he cannot (and should not) be ignored.” — Paul Shaw, Design Historian
A fine clothbound hardcover printed in hot-foil with illustrated dust jacket, a softcover reader's guide and slipcase.